DiBiQuadro SaturnLO Saturn Lead Overdrive Amp User Manual

DiBiQuadro SaturnLO Saturn Lead Overdrive Amp

Thanks for purchasing DiBiQuadro SaturnLO. This is the result of a

meticulous engineering design, obsession for perfection and unforgiving comparisons with analog counterparts.

Please take your time to read carefully the content of this manual before using the Plugin and the Renderer.

The Best Saturn Lead Overdrive on Earth

SaturnLO is a highly-accurate in the box reproduction of a classic boutique Lead Overdrive guitar amplifier which defined the standard for modern high gain amplification, with its unparalleled sound, beautiful design and high quality components. Its Normal channel delivers unique crystalline cleans that can cut like a knife with the channel’s Bright switch on or pushed to pure raw with the Crunch mode, while the Overdrive channel gives you a super-thick tone as a result of a masterly conceived multiple gain stage path. With Bass, Middle, Treble, and Output controls for each channel, you get loads of tone- shaping in a handy straight forward way. No matter what kind of tone you are trying to achieve – pop, blues, rock, metal – SaturnLO will get you there. If you want to obtain that rich, dynamic, fully saturated yet pristine gain, then you are definitely looking at the right place!

For the very first time in the boundless galaxy of amp simulations, SaturnLO combines a very (if not the most!) detailed and precise white box technique to model the preamp section with a solid, powerful and effective black box approach to replicate the power-amp and the cabinet/microphone sections.

Non-Plus-Ultra Preamp

Non-Plus-Ultra Preamp represents the perfect approach to circuit modeling. SaturnLO preamp features a built-from scratch 64-bit engine which is based on general purpose hi-quality algorithms and the most recent non-linear models.
Particular attention has been put on the definition of the Non-Linear Solver to get the maximum quality and realism, without losing details in favor of performances (Double-Precision Non Linear Computing).

Also, SaturnLO brings a completely new philosophy to the table: being able to shape your tone by giving total access to the circuit components. Managing each gain stage level, shaping the tone-stacks or modifying the tubes characteristics: there is virtually no limit to what you can achieve with SaturnLO!

Pwr/Cabs: Non-Linear Convolution

Before describing our solution, let’s talk about what everyone else does: the commonly spread approach of the “single IR” to reproduce a cabinet is nothing more than a digital clean equalizer. Which means: non-linearities are not reproduced at all. Competitors generally model power amps to introduce harmonic distortion, but they totally omit the non-linearities coming from the speaker, the microphone and the mic preamp. While these can be considered somehow negligible for some types of high wattage speakers when dealing high gain sounds, it is essential when the speaker breaks up.
Furthermore, sometimes solid state power amps are used to sample cabinet, speakers and mikes, but these power amps, despite being considered “neutral”, have their own “footprints” due to the different impedance, so the interaction with the speaker is noticeably different when compared to a classic tube power-amp.

Another limit of many well-known amp simulations is the complete absence of power amp clipping.

As DiBiQuadro we implemented our own version of Non-Linear Convolution (NLC) to reproduce all the final stages of a miked amplifier. We use to call Pwr/Cab a chain made of:

• a tube power amp,
• a cabinet/speaker,
• a microphone,
•  and a high-end studio preamp.

This chain is sampled as a unique block to preserve the correct interaction between the specific power amp and the speakers. Our 64-bit (double precision) NLC engine allows up to 40 kernels (harmonics). In addition, a complete set of parameters allows the full control over the power amp headroom, the type of clipping and the interaction of the negative feedback with the Depth and Presence knobs.

DNC+

The proprietary solutions described in the previous paragraphs are grouped under a common acronym: DNC+ (Double-Precision Non-Linear Computing and Convolution).

Double-Precision Non-Linear Computing and Convolution.

About (db)2

DiBiQuadro is the result of the joint forces of two Italian Software Engineers with more than 15 years of experience in several industries including Biomedical, Military, Insurance, Travel, Telecommunications and Pro Audio.

Our purpose is to deliver superior results in the Audio market with ground breaking technology and nice user friendly graphic interfaces.

DiBiQuadro full logo

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Input processing

SaturnLO – Plugin or Renderer – has been designed to process exclusively mono sources. Therefore, a dedicated instance of SaturnLO has to be applied to each guitar signal.

GUI: tooltips and Edit Mode

The graphic engine conception took place with a purpose in mind: keeping a clear indication of the status of the elements without altering their 3D rendering on the scene. Tooltips serve this purpose perfectly especially when dealing with knobs status. A typical approach would be to compress the height of the knobs trying to prevent the user to commit parallax errors. As a side effect the graphic designer would be forced to take into account this constraint by limiting the 3D depth of the scene.

Another good reason to use a tool tipbased approach is to allow the update  of the knobs status by using an Edit Mode.

When using a state-of-the-art system – see minimum requirements on DiBiQuadro website – SatunLO GUI is able to deliver more than 60 FPS at a reasonably low CPU usage for a super fluid knob tweaking and a hyper realistic meter response.

Controls

NORMAL. It engages the clean/crunch tones. Two switches are linked to the Normal channel: the bright/normal switch gives you a boost on the high end part of the spectrum; instead the crunch/clean introduces distortion from barely audible to full raw depending on the PREAMP setting.

OVERDRIVE. It selects the hi-gain channel. This is the sound the original hardware is known for, from light crunch to full blown madness.

PREAMP. This knob adjusts the amount of gain of the selected channel.

TONE-STACK. Simply Bass, Mid, Treble as you would expect on a great amp. There is one tone-stack for each channel.

DEPTH/PRESENCE. Depending on the selected Pwr/Cab these controls may be present or not in order to tweak respectively the bottom-end and the top-end of the power amp section.

CHANNEL OUTPUT. Here is where the magic comes in. Not only the OUTPUT can be used to tweak the general volume but also serves as a tone shaper of the general frequency response: higher OUTPUT settings enhance the character of the distortion on the top end. Keep it low to get silky tones, raise it to get presence and thickness.

INPUT [dB]. This knob adjusts the amount of signal entering the plugin. It can be used as a clean boost before the preamp and safely pushed beyond the 0dB because there is no clipping between the INPUT knob and the preamp circuit. The INPUT LEVEL meter displays the amount of signal in input and it is directly affected by this knob.

OUTPUT [dB]. This is a clean volume knob on the general output of the plugin. Use this control to properly feed the next plugin in the chain without affecting the tone of SaturnLO. The general output level is displayed by the OUTPUT LEVEL meter.

LOAD/SAVE. The LOAD button opens a window to select a previously saved preset – this includes knobs, buttons, switches, SIZE (only on Windows), SET, PREAMP, HEAD, POST and PWR/CAB settings –. The SAVE button allows to save a file containing the current settings of the plugin.

PREV/NEXT. Use these buttons to browse back and forth through the preset files.

SET/PREAMP/HEAD/POST. Please refer to the dedicated sections.

Here some useful tricks to interact with the GUI:

• use “CTRL + click” on a knob to reset the value to its default;
• use the mouse wheel on a knob for fine adjustments;
• press SHIFT while moving a knob to fine adjust.

Edit Mode

The Edit Mode is accessible by double clicking on a knob. Once done, you can edit the value by using arrows, digits and “.”, “+”, “-” keys. INSERT key is supported too: INSERT status is recognizable by checking the cursor inside the tooltip (“|” means INSERT disabled, “_” means INSERT enabled). After modifying the value press ENTER to commit or ESC to roll-back to the latest value before entering the Edit Mode.

Resize GUI

The GUI is resizable on Windows OS by right clicking on the GUI itself and selecting one of the two available options:

• Normal
• Full

On MacOS the GUI size is automatically chosen depending on the screen resolution so this feature is not necessary.

SET

You can open the SET window to access the configuration settings for Preamp, Pwr/Cab, Post Equalizer, meters, ReSampler, PreRender.

RESET. It restores the default values for all configurations in the SET window.

Gate. Enables/disables the noise gate.

Preamp. Enables/disables the preamp section.

Pwr Cab. Enables/disables the Pwr/Cab section.

Post Equalizer. Enables/disables the PostEquilizer section.

LEDs. Activates/deactivates the meter LEDs.

IOPanel. This section allows to invert the phase of the input signal (PhaseIn) and the output signal (PhaseOut).

Gate Simple   and Advanced tabs. These tabs are displayed when the Gate is on and allows to configure the noise gate.

Gate Simple. A single parameter of threshold to set the level at which the gate starts to be applied.

Gate Advanced. More parameters: Transition to apply a gradual gain reduction when the signal is below the threshold (0 for hard gate); Expansion is the maximum gain reduction when the signal is below the threshold; Decay controls how quickly the signal fades out when it is below the threshold; Knee sets how hardly the gate switches from ungated to gated signal (0 for Hard Knee, 1 for Soft Knee); Hysteresis prevents the gate from immediately reopening after passing below the threshold, to avoid gain flickering.

RealTime and OffLine tabs. These tabs allow the user to specify different configurations for the ReSampler depending on the current processing mode.

RealTime tab. This mode is applied by your sequencer when you are using a plugin for monitoring, or when you are play backing tracks. We suggest to keep the UpSampling Factor at 1x in case of monitoring, 4x in case of playback @ 44100/48000Hz, 2x in case of playback @ 88200/96000Hz.

OffLine tab. This mode is set by your sequencer when you are bouncing a track or the complete mix. If the elaboration time is not a constraint for you and you need to render hi-gain guitars with the Overdrive Channel, we suggest to set the UpSamplingFactor to at least 128x @ 44100/48000Hz, 64x @ 88200/96000Hz in order to minimize the aliasing artifacts and get super highquality distortion. Try also to set a very high PreRenderFactor (32x) to stabilize the model in advance. For very long renders, we strongly suggest to use SaturnLO Renderer in command line mode.

ReSamplerBufferSize. This is the ReSampler Buffer Size in number of
samples.

Up Sampling Factor. This is the UpSampling Factor applied to the base input Sample Rate. Use it to increase the quality or your playbacks and renders, but take into account that high UpSampling factors correspond to more samples to be processed, and consequently longer processing times.

UpFilterTransBand. This is the UpSampling Filter Transition Band, in percent of the spectral space of the  input signal between filter’s -3 dB point and the Nyquist frequency.

UpFilterType. It defines the UpSampling filter’s phase response: Minimum Phase or Linear Phase.

DownFilterTransBand. This is the DownSampling Filter Transition Band, in percent of the spectral space of the output signal between filter’s -3 dB point and the Nyquist frequency. If you are working at sample rates higher than 44100/48000Hz, we suggest to increase it to 43% to have a smoother low pass filter without impacting the audible frequencies.

DownFilterType. It defines the DownSampling filter’s phase response: Minimum Phase or Linear Phase.

PreRenderFactor. Together with input SampleRate and UpSamplingFactor, PreRenderFactor affects how many samples will be pre-rendered by the model before the real processing. We suggest to set it to the highest value – 32x – in Offline mode.

DONE. It closes the SET window.

PREAMP

The PREAMP window gives you the power to modify every single component of the circuit. Even the Triode model of the 12AX7 can be tweaked in the NonLinearSolver tab. Play with this window very carefully, possibly in front of an analyzer, to get exactly what you are looking for. We do not guarantee that any possible combination of values makes sense, so it’s up to you to find a configuration that works and satisfies your needs.

RESET. It restores the default values for all configurations in the PREAMP window.

Primary tabs: Normal, Overdrive and NonLinearSolver. The primary tabs provide access to the different channels of the circuit and to the 12AX7 triode model. Each channel can be tweaked independently, while there can be only one triode model for all triodes of SaturnLO.

Normal tab. It shows the different part of the Normal circuit, split into 4 subtabs, one for each gain stage, plus a Tonestack tab.

Overdrive tab. It reports a sub-tab for each of the 5 different gain stages, plus its related Tonestack.

NonLinearSolver tab. Use this section to change characteristics of all the triodes in the preamp. It is the most advanced and consequently the least user friendly feature. Browse button opens the dialog window to select an existing dtp file. The dtp file contains the triode  characteristic. The first time a file isselected, it is necessary to generate the look up tables (LUTs) for that triode by pressing GENERATE. Change the name in Browse text input to save a new dtp file and then press GENERATE.

The generation has to be done each time the triode parameters are modified in order to make them effective.

Once the LUTs are generated they are stored in files in the same path of the dtp file and automatically loaded when selecting the dtp file with the Browse button / dialog window.

To create a new triode characteristic follow these steps:

1. Modify the name in the DtpFile textbox.
2. Change one or more parameters of the triode model1.
3. Press GENERATE button.

DONE. It closes the SET window.

If you accidentally overwrite the  characteristics of the factory triodes were commend reinstalling the product from Center.

PWR/CAB

The PWR/CAB section allows to quickly switch among 8 preloaded Pwr/Cabs. Only one Pwr/Cab can be selected at  a time. As said in a previous dedicated section, a Pwr/Cab is the non-linear representation of a chain including:

• a tube power amp,
• a cabinet/speaker,
• a microphone,
• and a high-end studio preamp.

A Pwr/Cab representing only the power amp is also provided: use this Pwr/Cab to experiment with “larger than life” clean sounds, or to drive an external IR (A 3rd party IR loader placed after SaturnLO plugin would be needed in this case).

SaturnLO comes with 25 selectable Pwr/Cabs:

SaturnLO_000_100W_5881
SaturnLO_001_100W_5881_60A_1_T75_57_A12C
SaturnLO_002_100W_5881_60A_1_T75_201_A12C
SaturnLO_003_100W_5881_60A_1_T75_421_A12C
SaturnLO_004_100W_5881_60A_4_T75_57_A12C
SaturnLO_005_100W_5881_60A_4_T75_201_A12C
SaturnLO_006_100W_5881_60A_4_T75_421_A12C
SaturnLO_007_100W_5881_60A_2_V30_57_A12C
SaturnLO_008_100W_5881_60A_2_V30_201_A12C
SaturnLO_009_100W_5881_60A_2_V30_421_A12C
SaturnLO_010_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_57_A12C_A
SaturnLO_011_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_201_A12C_A
SaturnLO_012_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_421_A12C_A
SaturnLO_013_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_57_A12C_B
SaturnLO_014_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_201_A12C_B
SaturnLO_015_100W_5881_60A_3_V30_421_A12C_B
SaturnLO_016_100W_5881_60B_1_M25_57_B73
SaturnLO_017_100W_5881_60B_1_M25_201_B73
SaturnLO_018_100W_5881_60B_1_M25_421_B73
SaturnLO_019_100W_5881_60B_3_M25_57_B73
SaturnLO_020_100W_5881_60B_3_M25_201_B73
SaturnLO_021_100W_5881_60B_3_M25_421_B73
SaturnLO_022_100W_5881_60B_2_H30_57_B73
SaturnLO_023_100W_5881_60B_2_H30_201_B73
SaturnLO_024_100W_5881_60B_2_H30_421_B73

The power amp is 100Watt with 4×5881 tubes.

Two cabinets are available: a slanted 60A loaded with T75 and V30 speakers and a straight 60B loaded with M25  and H30 speakers. A sequential number from 1 to 4 indicates which speaker has been sampled: 1 and 2 are the top left and right while 3 and 4 the bottom left and right respectively.

Two hi-end mic preamps were used: A12C and B73 are two top notch preamplifiers that set the standard for both vintage and modern recordings.

All Pwr/Cabs are automatically phase aligned and can be blended together using different instances of SaturnLO – one for each Pwr/Cab.

PWR/CAB LOAD. Pwr/Cab Load gives access to the 8 slots on the GUI. Browse opens the window to select the Pwr/Cab path, while Void cleans up the slot and no Pwr/Cab is applied to the signal. While the output of the preamp section is not bounded by any volume limit and can be used to drive subsequent plugins (ie: another SaturnLO), the output of a Pwr/Cab is protected by a safety mechanism that mutes the signal when above 0dB.

PWR/CAB SET. With Pwr/Cab Set you can select the number of harmonics in the Pwr/Cab section:

•  Standard: 10 harmonics
•  High: 20 harmonics
•  Ultra: 30 harmonics
•  Non-Plus-Ultra: 40 harmonics
  

HEAD

Head (HeadRoom) is a powerful tool to shape the behavior of the power amp section, including the type of clipping when pushed to the limit (soft/hard, symmetrical/asymmetrical) and the effect of depth and presence when the power amp is working in the nonlinear region. Each Pwr/Cab has its own setting.

PWRCAB PRESET. It restores the factory preset for the selected Pwr/Cab.

RESET. It restores the values to the general default values.

PrePhase. Phase of the signal in input to the power amp (Normal or Inverted).

PreGain. It sets the level of the signal in input to the power amp.

PostGain. It defines the level of the signal coming out of the Pwr/Cab.

ClippingType. Soft/Hard.

LowThreshold/HiThreshold. These can be used to set the clipping thresholds of the negative and positive half waves respectively: use different values for asymmetrical clipping and identical values for symmetrical.

PresenceGainPostPerc/DepthGainPostPerc. Percentage of Presence and Depth effect after the power amp clipping. They affect the behavior of Presence and Depth only when power amp is saturating.

POST

Post (Post Equalizer) is a handy minimum-phase equalizer at the end of the signal chain.

PWRCAB PRESET. It restores the factory preset for the selected Pwr/Cab.

RESET. It restores the values to the general default values.

LoCut1/2. Low cut 12dB/oct. Engage both at the same frequency to obtain 24dB/oct.

HiCut1/2. Hi cut 12dB/oct. Engage both at the same frequency to obtain 24dB/oct.

Band1/2/3/4/5/6. Bell interventions with Frequency, Gain and Q controls.

The Renderer

The Renderer is provided to process an input wave file in OffLine mode. It collects all the controls described in the previous sections, plus you have the possibility to specify input and output files.

Use the LOAD and SAVE buttons to load and save Renderer presets. The Import button can take a specific GUI setting from a MercuryRec plugin preset file. There is also an additional Output header which allows to specify the output wave file format.

OutputBitDepth. This is the number of bits of information in each output sample. It can be 16, 24, 32 or 64-bit.

OutputAudioFormat. It represents the output encoding type: PCM (Integer) or Floating Point.

The RENDER button will be visible only when an existing input wave file and a valid output wave file name have been specified.

Command Line Mode

The Renderer can be executed in command line mode. With this functionality, multiple rendering sessions can be easily triggered in parallel by a batch file.

To launch a render from the Command Prompt, first you need to create a preset for the Renderer. Then you need to execute the Renderer from the Command Prompt with “-c” option and to specify, in order:

1. the full path (absolute or relative path + name) of the Renderer preset;
2. the full path (absolute or relative path + name) of the input wave file;
3. the full path (absolute or relative path + name) of the output wave file.

Reminder:
SaturnLORenderer.exe –c presetFile.drp input.wav output.wav

Customer Support

DiBiQuadro Audio S.r.l.s.
P.IVA: 09771000966
Address: Via Amendola 18, 26815,
Massalengo (LO), ITALY
1 Have a look at
https://www.dafx.de/paperarchive/2011/Papers/76_ e.pdf for more details

Documents / Resources

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